Don't they know it's Friday?

That’s the title of the book I first read when I arrived in UAE. It gave me some pointers what would be the culture I was getting into. The book suggests how and what non-Arabs should do, or shouldn't do in certain situations. Also, Friday is the 'holy' day of the week in the Gulf. You will never find any Muslims working on this day. Friday and Saturday is our weekend here. The book is a must read for those who want to work and live in the United Arab Emirates.

I found it amazing really to hear ten different languages in my new job everyday, from colleagues when attending orientations, meetings, or just have plain chitchats at the cafeteria. For my first few months in Dubai, I felt I didn’t have the time to be homesick as I knew that there were plenty of things to learn; new culture to adapt to, new language(s) to understand and to get used to, lots and lots of new people and colleagues to get to know, and a very new environment to explore. I was so excited.

I didn’t have any mobile phone yet, so I had to look for a phone booth to call home and let them know that I arrived in Dubai safely.

Anyway, during our company orientation, the first things we were told was, we, especially women, should try to avoid wearing all those sandos and shorts when visiting the malls or walking downtown. They warned us that, although, the government of UAE was not really that strict when it comes to dress code, unlike in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, expatriates were expected to respect the Arab culture and should not wear something indecent on the streets. We were not also allowed to take photos of local people here unless you have their consent.


Showing the public you're drunk is a bigtime foolish act here, but if you don't mind spending sometime in jail, that's okay. Dubai is very friendly when it comes to entertaining its visitors, because they also have bars and discos in the hotels, and even have Hard Rock Cafe along Sheikh Zayed Road. One of my Polish colleagues returned to Dubai from his vacation with high level of alcohol in his blood test. Maybe, he finished all the liquor bottles on the plane. How did the authorities find out? He just collapsed on the street, and of course, he's taken to the hospital. When he woke up, the police were already there waiting for him. He stayed in jail for one month. His head was shaven. And oh, I don't know if he received some lashes. Moral lesson of the story, you can get drunk here, but be discreet. Salaam!

The photo here shows where I used to work.